We found ourselves bravely swimming against the rough waves of the open sea. My younger sister was more courageous than me despite the fact that I'm the one who competed in swimming back in college and has been freediving recently. My reluctance to venture out to new dive spots were caused by the following reasons: (1) the waves were strong, (2) the place was unchartered territory for me, or (3) I don't have a dive buddy. In this case, it was all three!
Nonetheless, I and my sister requested our uncle and cousins to head on to their empty beach lot fronting a protected marine sanctuary in Brgy. Maño, San Remegio, Cebu. They have been sharing us about this marine sanctuary for years and somehow we never bothered to visit the place in the past. Just recently, we had the opportunity to do so when we had a family reunion.
Getting there would be easier with a private car or motorbike. It was a 15 minute drive from our beach house. If I'm not mistaken, we arrive there noon time. The sun was out, the water was clear but the waves were crashing hard onto the beach rocks. Initially, our cousin was supposed to join us on this water excursion however he retreated as his hangover got the best of him. I didn't stop him from doing so since it was for his safety.
Halfway to the marine sanctuary, I constantly checked on how my sister was doing as we paddled our way onto the rough waves. By now, you would probably think I should already be used to this but for me it's not the case. We can never underestimate mother nature. Safety has always been a priority in work, in my climbing adventures and also in my diving excursions. But my worries were washed away as my younger sister confidently tells me she is secured with the life vest she is wearing.
It all started with scattered corals on the ocean floor. Then tiny fishes were swimming around. They all looked dull and uninteresting as I drifted from the water surface. My excitement died a little bit. I got a little confused since we were told that this sanctuary was thriving with marine life. Until freediving a depth of about 8 meters showed me otherwise.
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A complete surprise to see the sea bed teeming with healthy corals and a variety of colorful fishes. Some of them would hide along the narrow crevices and holes. Vibrant blue fishes stood out the most. The unique thing to note though was everything was a miniature version with what I'm used to seeing in Moalboal or even in Malapascua. What we saw was just the tip of the iceberg. There was so much to explore since scuba divers have already wandered into the depths of this underwater sanctuary. As for us, we have yet to come back here in the future. But in the end, it was an amazing adventure added to my freediving journey. So enjoy this video I made for you guys!
Music by lemonmusicstudio from Pixabay.
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